I was there when Shaira & Aly were engaged among family and friends, and they traveled from Toronto for their engagement session this spring.  They got to experience first hand my style of photography which I’m increasingly thinking of as ‘ooh, shiny!’  We had something else in mind for the shoot but construction completely changed my plans. So I wandered around looking for new and exciting shooting opportunities and literally squealed when I found a couple of cool locations. It just goes to show that no matter how much you may want to plan for a shoot, photographers have to be adaptable, the conditions may not be what you expect!

Shaira paid me a great compliment in an email, and told me something that I’ve since added to our ‘about us’ section.  She said that she loves the way we ‘play with nature’. I LOVE that sentiment, because it’s exactly what we like to do, and I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Shaira & Aly – a pleasure as always. See you for your wedding in July!

Another beautiful newborn baby is gracing the blog this week!  Either I’ve gotten much better at this, or the babies I’ve worked with lately have been incredible, because this little sweetheart was done her whole shoot in under an hour. I could have easily spent another hour playing with her!  She was the first to be photographed in a couple of my new props from the states, and an awesome monkeywood bowl that I picked up on travels in Hawaii.

Welcome Payton – mom and dad are so delighted that you are here!

She has the most amazing little dimples.

We’ve really enjoyed getting to know this little family, and it helps that we live in the same neighbourhood in Terwillegar!  Little Lincoln was welcomed earlier this year and is so loved already.  He was an adorable bundle to photograph. Big brother Hudson is happy to have a new playmate!

Omar & Anum were married in Pakistan, but they had a wedding reception in Edmonton to celebrate with their friends and family.  And neighbours!  We happen to live next door to Omar’s parents, and have been happy to work with their family in the past for Meshal & Sara’s wedding.

I adored Anum from the first time I met her. Her enthusiasm for photography and style is contagious, and while specific in the type of photos she wanted from her wedding, she was very receptive to our ideas and was an amazing model for us. We also share a passion for TV shows but that’s a whole other story… She and Omar make a wonderful couple.

Anum & Omar were introduced through cousins/friends. Anum studied law in Pakistan, and Omar studied engineering here in Edmonton. Their guests came from India, USA, Holland, and Pakistan – a very international crowd!

I’m going to start this post with something non-wedding related. Michael has many happy memories from Hawaii, where his Nana had a vacation home. I’ve seen many photos of him as a child playing on the beach, and swinging on banyan trees. I was excited to visit Hawaii with my family for Kendra and Rene’s wedding, and to start creating some of those memories for my children. This is one of my favourite moments from our trip – on our last day on Oahu we drove around the island and found a secluded beach (where the TV show Lost was filmed). As we walked along, we spotted a lone sea turtle on the beach, and many more swimming in the waves. No tour guide, no other tourists, just us, our very excited little boy, and our very own sea turtle. It was perfect.

It’s magic like this that makes Hawaii so special, and I can easily see why Kendra & Rene chose paradise for their destination wedding. Kendra is the sister of David who we photographed several years ago, so it was wonderful for us to celebrate with their family again.

Kendra is stunning, I had such a wonderful time photographing her.

She attracted quite a bit of attention from the (other) tourists!

Rene and his brother.

Their ceremony at the Outrigger Reef was perfect – a beautiful tent to shade the guests from the tropical sun, and a gorgeous arch with a palm tree backdrop.  The best part – no one had to get sand in their shoes!

Kendra requested ‘hand-tied tropical bouquets’ – I think the hotel did an outstanding job.

This shot was a fluke – we were walking to another location when I stopped dead in my tracks, pointed, and said ‘I need you to go THERE’. I was recently asked by a prospective client what my strategy is for photography. It’s not that I don’t have one, but I love being surprised and finding something amazing.

The sunset reception at the hotel was incredible – wonderful food, a beautiful cake (complete with graham cracker crumb sand!) and Kendra & Rene treated their guests to a luau!

The following day we joined Kendra & Rene for more photos – we could have spent hours in the banyan tree alone. Hawaii is so beautiful and so inspirational – the perfect way to head into our busy summer.

You can’t have a wedding in Hawaii and not take advantage of the stunning sunset.

Congratulations Kendra & Rene, and thank you for bringing us all the way to Hawaii for your wedding in paradise. Aloha!

Annemarie (mama to these beautiful boys) and I attended high school together, and when she contacted me about photos after Nils was welcomed into their family I was happy to have her into the studio. Michael captured these precious photos of Nils (2 months) and Erik (3 years) – what adorable little brothers!

On another note, Annemarie’s husband is one of the owners of The Common, a gastropub which recently moved to a new location downtown. We’re looking forward to eating there soon!

Before we get going with today’s post, I wanted to extend an invitation to our readers: if you are enjoying this series please leave a comment below!  Feel free to let us know if there is a topic you’re dying to hear about. Thanks for reading! – Haley

This is a multi-part post, please see all topics below!

{Wedding Organization — How to Remain Organized While Planning the Wedding of Your Dreams}
Author: Rebecca Fisher-Swarbrooke

Now that you’re engaged, you’re likely asking where you should begin. It is likely that you have thoughts constantly fluttering through your mind. What should you do with all of your ideas though? With all of your thoughts and inspiration, you will need a way to remain organized, during the months of planning your wedding. I suggest the following tips and suggestions along with recommendations of what you may wish to invest in.

1. Invest in a Calendar/Day Planner
Throughout your months of planning, you will have many appointments and tasks to keep track of; you will want to keep everything in one primary place. I know that we are living in a modern world filled with technology, a world where the iPhone calendar has replaced the one that sits on your desk; however, I still find significance in tangible text. My personal favourite planner is the Moleskine Daily Planner; there is adequate space to write in and I particularly enjoy the aesthetics of the book.

2. Invest in a Notebook 
Those who know me know that I often scribble down notes as soon as a thought comes to mind. Brides, keep a notebook in your purse for you never know when you will stumble upon inspiration for your wedding.

3. Invest in a Binder
File everything together in one place; your notes, your contracts, your inspiration.

4. Create a planning timeline
Certain elements of the wedding planning process must be completed by particular dates, so ensure that you have these marked in your calendar/day planner. Even though there are things that can wait to decide upon until closer to the wedding, you can always get a head start; at least begin with the process of thinking about the entire wedding as a whole.

5. Delegate and share responsibilities
Ensure that all of the individuals who are responsible for a particular element of the wedding know exactly what their tasks are and when they should complete these responsibilities. The couple should be equally involved and responsible for the decisions made for the wedding.

{Hiring a Wedding Planner vs DIY}
Author: Rebecca Fisher-Swarbrooke

There can be many benefits to hiring a professional wedding planner; however, I will be the first to admit that a planner is not a necessity, it is a luxury. I dislike using the phrase “budget wedding” because as we have discussed in recent weeks, determining a budget, whether high or low is a requisite in the early stages of planning your wedding.

So, is hiring a wedding planner right for you? With your prior knowledge of the benefits of hiring a professional coordinator—from your visits to the blog(s) in the last few weeks—I am sure you will have begun to come to a decision. Here, we will discuss a few more things that you should consider before deciding for or against a planner.

Planning the Wedding

If it is not within your budget to hire a full service coordinator, plan a DIY wedding, but reserve a few hourly consultations or a Wedding Month Management service with a professional wedding planner. 

An obvious concern when considering the commissioning of a wedding planner is obviously the cost associated with it. After all, it is roughly an investment of anywhere from 10-20+% of your wedding budget. As I said last week, even if a wedding planner’s full service is not attainable within your budget, it may be advisable to meet with a professional planner for a few hourly consultation services. This is your most cost effective wedding planner option and will provide you with the time to discuss any wedding details that you may be concerned with.

What a Professional Wedding Planner Can Do For YOU
1. Save you time
Did you know that the average bride spends 250+ hours planning her wedding? Who has that kind of time? A wedding planner has done this before, so will be a great asset in ensuring that none of the details are overlooked.
2. Save you money
A wedding planner either has strategic ways of saving you money, receives exclusive industry discounts, or knows of the best businesses to take you to for the best prices — of course, without compromising quality.
3. Alleviate unnecessary stress

Designing the Wedding
Most often when people think of “planner versus DIY,” they would think of the aesthetic quality, not the actual planning. With the recent popularity of wedding blogs such as Style Me Pretty, we see that there is a fascination with the DIY aesthetic. When we look at these published weddings though, we must understand that these weddings have all been well thought out and strategically planned. The shabby chic DIY look is not by chance, it is well designed. I often say that when you design your wedding with a DIY approach, you can often spend much more, whether in finances or in time, so you must take all implications into consideration. A DIY style wedding designed by a professional designer often looks greatly different than one designed by a typical bride-to-be; it seems that there is something less DIY and more composed.

Next week, we will be completing a further discussion on wedding design and how to find your wedding style.

A collaboration between High Culture & Shandro Photo.

Monica is a very special person in our life. She’s an amazing neighbour, loves our children to bits, and has a spitfire personality. We were so excited to hear she’d become engaged to Manny, she beamed with joy when she came over to tell us. Manny is warm and funny and a great match for Monica. Luckily there was no doubt for her that she wanted us to be a part of her wedding, and all of the Shandros are going to be involved! Evelyn and Andrew will be a part of the ceremony, and we’ll be doing the photos. We can’t wait, and we’re so delighted for these two. Also exciting – Monica & Manny are working with Julia from Once Upon Your Day to plan the wedding. I LOVE Julia and her planning is going to help make this wedding spectacular. Without further ado, please enjoy a selection of Monica & Manny’s engagement photos!

I wanted to share with you a few of the headshots, teens, and families that we’ve been fortunate enough to work with in the past little while.  We love having a studio and sharing it with our clients.

Aliya & Andrew are the grand prize winner from our Engagement Photo contest!  They worked very hard to win the contest and we want to thank all of their family and friends who supported them.  They are a very sweet couple and laughed a lot together. While dating they spent a lot of time at the University so that was a natural choice for their engagement session. Jewelry provided by Stella & Dot stylist Julianne.

Watch the blog this fall for Aliya & Andrew’s wedding!